I loved this book. A new author to me and always a treat when you find a writer you enjoy and can start to mine their back catalogue.
Carcking story, funny, twitsy turny.
Recommend

Like a lot of young people finishing Uni, Phyl has graduated and has yet to find a graduate job. Instead, she has had to move back in with her parents and take a low paid job at the nearby airport food hall. She still plans to become a writer but, as with a lot of aspiring writers, has no idea what she wants to write about. So she is stuck... Enlightenment comes from a strange place when her "Uncle" Chris visits, bringing along his adopted daughter Rashida who she bonds with over a rather interesting lift-based observation! It also transpires that Chris is involved in investigating a faction which threatens the newly formed (and we know how this ended) Liz Truss government. Something that might put his life in danger. A premise enhanced when a delegate at a conference he is attending is found dead...
And that's all I am saying about this book. You need to go in as blind as the blurb allows to get the very best from all the plot, the hindsight, and observation humour to be found herein - see it, say it, sorted... Needless to say it's a blast from start to finish.
This is my first book by this author and, to be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised when I started and found myself really resonating with both his style of writing and content. Especially his sense of humour!
The down side of which is that I now have another goodness knows how many books to add to my every growing TBR - someone really does need to get on with making me an immortality pill so I have half a chance of finishing mine!
One of the things I loved most about this book, and one of the things the author did spectacularly well is to weave his fiction around the factual events that coincide. Especially as they are ones that I actually paid attention to in the real world. Although he does appear to potentially blur the lines on occasion, at least I think he does...!
All in all, this was definitely a good book to introduce me to this author. As I said, I'm now off to stalk his back catalogue - recommendations are most definitely welcome...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A fun murder mystery set in the murky world of British right wing think tanks during the brief premiership of Liz Truss - or is it?

An amusing and thought provoking book by a master storyteller at the top of his game, exploring politics, literature and the boredom of working in a sushi restaurant at an airport terminal.

Pay attention – this author, I believe, likes to mess with your mind! A ‘busy’ plot, a word game with the title, lots of interesting references thrown in, sacred cows milked, scant regard or respect for those in government, meant I enjoyed a number of laugh-aloud moments. It’s a while since I read anything by Jonathan Coe, but regret that. His blending of current affairs, characters’ background, an admirable lady police detective who is more than fond of good food and wine, a murder you know will happen, make for a most enjoyable read. Leaving the final scene open-ended makes me wonder whether there will be a sequel – but maybe Coe was just messing with my mind.

I was pleased to be offered a chance to review this, as I love this author. I did enjoy this, but found it began to drift towards the end, and I found the ending disappointing. Still a great political satire with many a humorous moment, but I don't think it's his best.

Although it includes some of the state of the nation commentary you’d expect from Coe, I found this novel quite a departure. It’s extremely good fun and a satisfying mystery. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Jonathan Coe is one of my favourite contemporary British novelists and this genre-shifting combination of political satire, state of the nation novel, coming-of-age tale, and cosy murder mystery is another clever cracker.
The Proof of My Innocence is a fresh, witty, and entertaining story that manages to be extremely funny and entertaining, whilst also casting an intelligent eye over the crazy political times that saw Liz Truss briefly rise to power.
Coe captures the essence of Britishness and a moment in time without resorting to stereotypes or blunt messaging. I wonder how well this translates for foreign readers, and whether future readers will be bemused by some of the details of life in the 2020s such as that most annoying of all time ‘See it Say It Sort It’ tube message, but for me right now – I loved it!
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC

This is a very clever and, at times, funny book reflecting on the state of British politics over the past few decades, focusing particularly on Liz Truss. The author manages to mix this with a murder mystery by writing 3 different types of novel eg cosy crime within the main framework, to move the plot along.
However, I never really warmed to the style or the characters and did find the boom confusing at times. So, while acknowledging the author's obvious abilities I can't really say I enjoyed it.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Having read and enjoyed Bournville by this author, I jumped at the chance to read this one.

I spent the vast majority of my time reading this one trying to work out what was going in; unusually, it just didn't 'click' with me. The more I read, the more confused I got until I found myself looking to see how much more there was to go.

That's not something I've ever done before but, in all honesty, I was relieved when I reached the end and no further forward than I was at the beginning. You can't like every book you read and this one just wasn't meant for me. I'm sure others would love it though. 3*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Jonathan Coe: The Proof of My Innocence

Jonathan Coe is back to his political satire in this book. His What a Carve Up! (US: The Winshaw Legacy) remains one of the best English novels of the twentieth century. In that book he savaged a woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher or, more particularly, those who followed her. Here it is the turn of another woman prime minister, Liz Truss. If you are not British and have not heard of her, do not be surprised. She was prime minister for a mere seven weeks, in which time she managed to trash the economy. When she went to the US, nominally to support Trump in his 2004 presidential campaign, even the right-wingers who supported Trump had not heard of her. Truss has been associated with a shady group of right-wing groups centred around 55 Tufton Street in London and, as we shall see, these groups are key to this novel.

I will mention one other British peculiarity that plays a role in this book. If you travel by train in the UK you will sooner or later hear an announcement telling you to report anything suspicious to the British Transport Police which will be followed by the stupid phrase See It Say It Sorted.The phrase has been mercilessly mocked in the UK and people are tired of hearing it. One Transport Minister promised to get rid of it. He has long since departed. The phrase has not. Coe not only mocks it in this book, it plays a role in the plot. Just to help his French translator, I have translated it into French. Regardez Racontez Résolu.

The book opens with this issue as we follow a woman detective who is following a suspect on a train and is about to arrest him when she is interrupted by a See It Say It Sorted announcement.

We next move to Phyl. She has recently graduated from university and now has a job making sushi at a sushi bar at Heathrow Airport, some distance away from Rookthorne where she lives with her parents. Her mother is Joanna, a vicar and her father, Andrew, a retired quantity surveyor who has a large amount of books, some of which he is trying to get rid of. We see the age gap as he likes watching old black and white British comedies (as Coe does) and Phyl endlessly watches old episodes of Friends. We also see the changes in the village as a new out-of-town shopping mall has opened and the high street is run down. Coe is keen on state-of-the nation commentaries. Indeed, it is while walking in he high street that Phyl sees several cosy detective stories in a charity shop and, having had no idea what she wants to do with her life, decides to write a cosy mystery.

Joanna has invited Christopher, an old friend from Cambridge University which they attended (at the fictitious St Stephen’s College)and which Andrew specifically did not. Christopher is deemed to be pompous and he and Joanna talk about Cambridge leaving Andrew and Phyl somewhat out of the picture. However we learn that Christopher is investigating TrueCon, a dubious right-wing group, clearly based on 55 Tufton Street, mentioned above and whose key members include people he knew at Cambridge. TrueCon is having a conference, open to all who pay the admission at Wetherby Hall in the village of Wetherby Pond which is fictitious. However aficionados will recognise Wetherby Pond as the name of the character played by Alastair Sim in the film The Happiest Days of Your Life, which Andrew had been watching earlier in the book. The conference opens on the day Liz Truss becomes prime minister.
Christopher is, of course, very much in the midst of the enemy and it is not helped when he proves the Wetherby family were slave traders. He clashes with a few people. Three things of note happen during the conference. Liz Truss becomes prime minister. Queen Elizabeth II dies. Not surprisingly, Christopher is found brutally murdered. A woman police officer, presumably the one we met at the beginning, who is to retire the next day, is on the case and we now move into whodunnit territory.

We also go off on another tangent, albeit an interesting one Joanna and Christopher were at Cambridge with a man called Brian who has recently died and had given Joanna the manuscript of his memoirs of his time at Cambridge, in which we learn about Cambridge, how the UK extreme right was nurtured in Cambridge at that time, with a bit of help from the US and that the 1980s really started in 1985. We meet various characters who we will meet forty year later at the conference where Christopher is murdered, particularly Richard Wagstaff and Rebecca Wood who seem to have all sorts of devious right-wing ideas and, indeed, have seemingly been plotting for some time.

There are two other key characters. Peter Cockerill was a novelist who had criticised the fact that the British novel had been taken over by those of left-wing persuasion. (Some are mentioned by name though obviously we could add one name that us missing – Jonathan Coe.)
When his books extolling old-fashioned British values do not sell, he commits suicide. However he has been rediscovered by a university academic, Professor Richard Wilkes, and indeed Wilkes is to speak about him at the Wetherby Pond conference.

Finally there is Rashida, the adopted daughter of Christopher who emerges after the death of Christopher and she and Phyl soon become close friends, so much so that they work together in solving the murder, coming up with various theories and even gallivanting round Europe in pursuit of the guilty, sometimes aided and encouraged and/or discouraged by the not yet retired police officer.

So we have a story of right-wing plotting and those investigating it, a story of what happened in Cambridge during the period when Coe himself was at Cambridge, a murder followed by a complicated whodunnit style investigation with the inevitable misleading clues and, of course the lives of various characters. We also have a series of dichotomies: right-wing vs left-wing, Boomers vs Gen Z, the male point of view vs the female point of view and what appears to be key for Coe, the contrast between the age of community pre-1985 (and pre-mobile phone) and the post-1985 everyone for themselves attitude.

Coe raises some interesting ideas but once again tells a superb story with a lot of political background, humour and the added bonus of a clever whodunnit. There is no doubt in my mind that this is his best novel since What a Carve Up! (US: The Winshaw Legacy) and highly recommended whatever your political views, age group or sex/gender.

The Proof of My Innocence
By Jonathan Coe

A closed room murder mystery, a book within a book, is it dark academia or memoir? Political commentary or satire?

I enjoyed reading this in places, but could not ever truly settle into the book. Everything had a sense of unreliability to it. It had my complete attention as I anticipated how the various threads were going to pull together. Although this is my first Coe I understand this author has serious writing chops, so I was determined to enjoy the ride.

Along the way I found interesting insights into Conservativism and how it was railroaded into what we now call Brexit, how open the endure political system is to Influence and chuckled along at the memory of some baffling real life events, but not being British, merely being an observer, the promised humour was possibly lost on me. I will however use the story of the man in the lift in future. That one made me snort my tea in public, gender politics being universal.

For me the denouement was disappointing. The murder mystery turned into a farce, possibly deliberately given the combination of genres in this book, but I thought it became overexplained to the point of inconsequence. The final scene was either genius or cop out. Is there to be a sequel?

Perhaps my expectation was too high, or my political savvy too low, but this one failed to land for me.

Publication date: 7th November 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review purposes

With this novel Jonathan Coe cements his standing as one of the most readable and enjoyable novelists in English.

The Proof of My Innocence is a clever, but not tricksy, fun, but not silly, novel that sits well in Coe’s canon. At the start, I did begin to wonder where it was going – it didn’t seem that the narrative was being built on anything solid but as it progressed through its main three parts it became engrossing, not only for the whodunnit element but for its deft handling of what could have been quite a fracturing stylistic device (telling the story through three contrasting genres).

What really drives the novel is Coe’s peerless ability to create a compelling cast of characters (including one who I’m guessing is supposed to be a younger version of Coe himself as well as a bonus cameo from Henry Winshaw). His dialogue and carefully deployed comedy eases the reader through this novel making it an easy but very substantial read. Coe’s skill means that he can recalibrate near (and extremely near) history without it seeming ham-fisted or high-handed. The result is that you look back at the events of 2022 through the lens of this comic novel and realise that it wasn’t an absurd detour but a long-festering ideologic canker sore that finally erupted.

The Proof of My Innocence is a great read. My only complaint is that yet again Coe and William Boyd publish a novel in the same year. Come on people – let’s spread these treats around!

Having previously read 'Bournville' by Jonathan Coe, and enjoyed it, I was eager to read The Proof of My Innocence. Overall I enjoyed the book. I like the writing style, and the easy-to-read feeling I got from it. To me, this was like a book of two halves - intertwined. The murder mystery part of the book I found great to read, but I admit I struggled with the political side (but this is just down to my knowledge and understanding of politics, rather than the author's). There is a major twist at the end, and it did have me confused for a while, but eventually I caught up, and had the 'ohhh' moment. I would recommend this book, and look forward to Jonathan's next book.

Following on from Bournville which is one of my all time favourite novels, I have to admit that I was somewhat confused by this novel.
Jonathan Coe's work is always complicated, but I found the ending of this novel muddled.
I guess that if I read this a few more times I will understand where the author was trying to take us.
Parts of this novel are brilliant, parts insightful, but I am afraid that parts were too complex for me to fathom.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The latest book by the satirical political novelist Jonathan Coe gives a fictionalised background to the short leadership term of Liz Truss. Told in several ways the story revolves around a group of Cambridge students and in particular a small group from a state school background. Partly a murder mystery and part political satire aimed at far right conservatism I found this to be very readable and at the same time thought provoking..
With his keen eyed view of the modern political scene in Britain and its roots in the 1980’s the author has written a novel that both entertains and educates or perhaps annoys depending on your political persuasion. In either case it is well worth reading.

It’s been 26 years since I read Jonathan Coe, his “House Of Sleep” which I really enjoyed. I have an outrageous five unread titles of his on my shelf ranging from his 1987 debut "The Accidental Woman” to his 2019 Costa Novel award-winning “Middle England”. Perhaps an early 2025 Resolution should be to catch up with him as I’ve liked everything of his I’ve read.
His latest is described as a “state of the nation” novel and much of it takes place in that strange time in recent British history from Liz Truss’ arrival as Prime Minister, through to the death of the Queen and the resulting public mourning leading up to the funeral, to the disastrous Budget which led to the PM’s resignation after just 50 days in office. (Nobody mention the lettuce!)
The novel partly focuses on the right wing of the party who heralded her appointment as the Second Coming Of Margaret Thatcher feeling that this is what the country needed. These are represented by a Conference held by the TrueCon supporters which has a central part to play in the plot. Alongside this there is much to do with the notion of fiction itself. Phyl Maidstone, fresh out of university and contemplating her future whilst back home with her parents and working at a Heathrow branch of a sushi chain wishes to write a novel and unable to decide on a genre explores cosy crime, dark academia and auto fiction, all of which become incorporated into Coe’s novel. It becomes a whodunnit concerning a blogger critical of the TrueCon group but it is much more than that.
Well written, memorable characters, craftily structured, a myriad of modern references and flashpoints, often funny as well as scathing of the nation we have become this is strong satire which keeps the reader on their toes throughout. It has done enough to convince me that I really need to read a lot more Jonathan Coe.
The Proof Of My Innocence is published on 7th November 2024 by Viking Books. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

I found this novel somewhat convoluted and had expected it to be more of a political thriller, given the early chapters. Nevertheless it was a good read, with many twists. The style of writing was interesting in that sections were played out by different characters. The novel gives glimpses of Cambridge University’s secret societies and the control these had on the political landscape. Dark secrets lie in wait to be discovered and for justice to be served. The most notable character for me was retiring Detective Inspector Pru Freeborne, whom I found entertaining, highly intelligent, with many quirks to her personality.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This is such good fun! I love Jonathan Coe’s novels and this is certainly one of the most entertaining though seriously difficult to review. It crosses all sorts of genres from political satire through cosy crime, taking in academia and auto fiction along the way. It’s one of those books where you totally think you are one step ahead and then find yourself completely upended when you turn the page. It bounces around time periods too, just to add another level.
I read it in a couple of sittings and then had to let it sit in my head for a while before I could read anything else. I’m not sure any other writer could make something so complex so much fun and actually coherent. Do go and read it, it will make you think and make you laugh and drive you slightly mad all at the same time.

Coe often discusses political and contemporary matters in his novels, and in a funny way as well. In ‘The Proof of My Innocence’ he focusses on conservative politics and how society (and conservatism) has changed in the last decades. Writing, literature and genre is another point of focus and I love how he plays with different genres here (cosy crime, dark academia, autofiction). A great and fun read.
Thank you Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

'The Proof of My Innocence' is an immensely readable and enjoyably post-modern literary and political satire centred on right-wing British politics from the 1980s to Liz Truss's short-lived premiership.

The novel is a murder mystery of sorts, following the violent stabbing of researcher and blogger Christopher Swann at a TrueCon conference in the Cotswolds in September 2022. Swann's death is a classic 'locked room' mystery, which due to a convenient secret passageway narrows the potential pool of suspects to just four: the hotel's proprietor Lord Randolph Wetherby (whose family's historic links to the slave trade Swann has threatened to uncover), leading neo-conservative Roger Wagstaff and his devoted acolyte Rebecca Wood (whose secret plans to privatise the NHS have also been discovered by Swann), and literary scholar Professor Richard Wilkes who specialises in the novels of largely forgotten conservative novelist Peter Cockerill who died in the 1980s.

The whodunnit is great fun in its own way (not least for its Lamborghini-driving, bon vivant sexagenarian Detective Inspector Pru Freeborne), but fans of Jonathan Coe's previous novels might think this all sounds a little modest. In fact, Coe's approach is far more ambitious and playful than this. The novel is framed by Chris's stay with his former university friend Joanna (now a vicar in Berkshire) before the conference, which introduces us to Joanna's Generation-Z daughter, Phyl. Phyl has recently graduated and is now working a minimum-wage, zero-hours contract job at a sushi restaurant at Heathrow Terminal Five. She wonders whether she might ever write a book, and together with Swann's daughter Rashida comes up with three possible genres which are currently popular in which she might write: 1) COSY CRIME, 2) DARK ACADEMIA and 3) AUTOFICTION.

Once the story proper begins, we realise that Coe is going to try his hand at each of this genres in turn, and he has a lot of fun doing so. There is some deliberately and hilariously bad writing early on in the cosy crime section - 'At the sound of his engine (even though he was driving a quiet, hybrid model) the ducks on the eponymous body of water took flight with a volley of complaining quacks' - which made me guffaw, but like all good parody, Coe shows a genuine appreciation of how each genre works, using and subverting their tropes with effortless confidence, and there are some truly ingenious plot twists along the way.

Coe is one of our best state-of-the-nation novelists and once again, he captures so much: the general insanity of Liz Truss's 49 days in office and the vacuity of 'anti-woke' rhetoric ('Listening to experts was woke. Believing in science was woke. Oxford and Cambridge were woke. North London was woke. Chai lattes were woke. Lentils were woke. Not having a car was woke. Riding a bicycle to work was woke. Working from home was exceptionally woke, about the wokest thing you could do.'); the strange mix of emotions inspired by the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the queues to see her lying in state; and our strange nostalgia for times before we were born, epitomised by Phyl's obsession with watching episodes of 'Friends'.

Above all, this novel manages both to say serious things about contemporary society and politics whilst also being tremendous fun to read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.